Sonic Adventure 3: Battle
by Ari Rockefeller
Summary: The ARK is no longer a threat to the Earth, but Dr. Robotnik is. His newest scheme for world domination involves the Chaos Emeralds, as well as Angel Island, home of the Echidnae... (very sloooooooow progress...)
1. Emerald Catacombs

Sonic Adventure 3:  Battle

From the same guy who brought you _Pokémon – Warrior's Desire _comes a new work of fanfiction.  The events of _Sonic Adventure 2: Battle _were the main inspiration behind this…that and a whole lot of random thoughts going through my head at once.

Rated PG-13 for language and some suggestive themes.

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters do not belong to me.

SCENE 1:  EMERALD CATACOMBS

TIME:  Sometime in the future, after the ARK "incident"

LOCATION:  Deep inside the catacombs of Angel Island

            _So _this _the home of the Echidnae..._

High above the surface of the planet Earth, miles above the ocean, floats an island that defies all known scientific logic.  Chunks of ground hang off the bottom of it like stalactites in a frozen cave, but when it is in the water, it appears as any other island in the sea.  Its interior is a mix of lush vegetation, thick jungles, crystal clear rivers, gorgeous waterfalls, and pristine lakes.  It is an area seldom touched by outsiders.  The only civilized people that live here are the Echidnae.  But more importantly, the island is the home of the legendary Chaos Emeralds.

            The Chaos Emeralds, as well as the greatest Emerald, the Master Emerald, are housed in a large crystalline cavern in the very center of the island.  It is full of mazes, traps, and dead ends designed to throw off would-be thieves who would dare try to steal the precious treasures.

            Such as this one big-busted bat girl who was at this very moment, was making her way through the crystal caverns.

            They have been used both to defend the world, and – in recent years – attempts to conquer the world.  Now, with the catastrophe brought on by the space colony ARK in the past and the world at peace, the Chaos Emeralds sit in their stronghold, enjoying the peace.  The Master Emerald not only contains powers that neutralize the powers of the other seven Chaos Emeralds, but it is used to power Angel Island and keep it afloat.  Once in a while – according to the Echidna calendar – it will be powered down so that the island may descend to Earth.  But what the purpose of such an action is known only to the Echidnae.

            Walking through a narrow corridor and seeing her multiple reflections looking at her in every direction, Rouge paused to take her surroundings.  All around her was wide-open space.  It was very dark, with only a few torches and her infrared Treasure Scope to light her path.  There was little live resistance this far in, which surprised her.  There _should _be guards galore here.  Oh well.  Time to press forward.

            Getting a big running start, she jumped, and flew like a bullet through and around numerous traps in her flight path.  She whizzed by sharp spears, heavy wrecking balls and beds of nails, and not even blinking as they triggered just inches after she passed them.  This wasn't the first time she would attempt to seek out the Emeralds.  The first time ended in failure, a long quest to pick up the broken shards of the Master Emerald, and her ultimate defeat at the hands of a blood red Echidna named Knuckles.

            No worries.  She'd be ready for him this time.  Aside from her new Steel Boots, she had been working on her attacks in the past.  Rouge attempted to give up the life of work in the government, but found she couldn't resist the jewels she loves so much.  Soon after, she went back to her treasure-hunting gig, and not long after that, her sights were pulled to the Master Emerald.

            Running at full speed, Rouge bolted down a narrow corridor, above and around its long stretches, until at long last, she came to a large room illuminated by the glow of eight special gems.  Rouge's mouth hung open just a little bit as she took in the sight of these magnificent objects.  Her eyes were wide as saucers.  "Oh my god..." she said to herself.  "They're here...all of them...and I'm _this close _to them!"  That last statement came out as a loud whisper.

            Indeed, positioned in the center high above the floor, in a stand that looked like it was draining power from it, was the Master Emerald itself.  Around the perimeter of the room were the seven Chaos Emeralds.  Each was giving off a mellow glow, filling the room with its light.  When the colored lights all shone at once, it appeared as a white light, almost like natural light.

            "I must have it!" Rouge declared to herself.  Taking a few steps back from her position, she jumped straight up, aiming for the ceiling, her wings flapping to give her the added boost she needed.  When she got the necessary height, her arms and legs snapped out straight, and she glided her way over to the container housing the Master Emerald.  She landed atop of it in a kneel, and looked down at her reflection, smiling back at her.

            "Finally," she murmured, "I have it."  But then her thoughts turned to exactly how she was going to "disconnect" her new treasure and get it out of here.  The Chaos Emeralds were easily the size of softballs.  The Master Emerald was about the size of a truck tire, and it was heavy_.  _Rouge remembered Knuckles hefting the large green mass _with one hand_ easily.  Unfortunately for her, she didn't have nearly as much upper body strength as the Echidna guardian.

            But what does it matter?  Nothing's going to stop her.  Not Knuckles, not this crystal cavern, not even the large weight that smashed into the back of her head, derailing her train of thought…

            Rouge was knocked off her perch atop the Master Emerald and fell to the cold floor below.  As she fell, she could distinctly identify the force of the blow as two fists smashing into her at once.  Both were crowned with large spikes on them.  She was face down on the floor as she heard her nemesis land as well.  Her tongue snaked out to the corner of her mouth, where she could taste her own blood.  She snarled as she got up.

            "I've been waiting for you, Knuckles," Rouge said, wiping her mouth and brandishing her fangs as she spoke.  "I was getting worried you weren't going to show up."  Rouge got up and looked around.  She found an Echidna there challenging her, but not Knuckles.  It wasn't even a he.  She had orange-brown fur, and was dressed in a tan skirt with a green and pink pattern covering it, and a white tube top.  She had on a gold tiara with a sapphire gem in the middle of it, and her feet were bound in tan moccasins and wrapped in what appeared to be...bandages(??).  "Uh, err...wait a second...you're not Knuckles."

            "What are you doing here, outsider?" she shouted.  Rouge gave her a cross look.

            "You wouldn't happen to know a red Echidna named Knuckles, would you?" Rouge asked flatly.  "Last I heard, _he _was the guardian of the Master Emerald, was he not?"

            "That's none of your concern!"  Rouge raised an eyebrow at this little brat's attitude.  "Yes, he is the guardian of the Emeralds, but he is obviously not here right now.  And when he's not, it is my responsibility!"

            "And who are you?"

            She snapped into a fighting stance, her left fist out in front of her and her right close to her body.  Her feet were shoulder length apart, and she was on the ball of her left foot.  "I am Tikal, princess of the Echidnae.  Leave this place now, and I will not hurt you!"

            _Did she say princess? _Rouge thought.  She suddenly became antsy at the thought of this.  Though she wasn't very much down with kidnapping, holding a tribal princess hostage could bring her quite a lot of ransom money.  Let's wait until after we take care of her to discuss that, though.

            "Oh, give me a break, kid," Rouge spat.  "Like you could possibly do anything to me?"

            Hearing this, Tikal sighed, and brought her hands together across her chest.  "I'm sorry," she said, softly.  At that, her fist snapped downward, slamming into the ground, causing a large tremor to radiate from her, knocking Rouge off her feet.  Now angrier, Rouge rose again, and shot Tikal a venomous glare.

            "Very well," she said.  "If that's how you want to play, I will pound you into the ground, and take the Emerald from you!"  Without any further warning, she ran at the attacking Tikal, who was initiating an attack of her own.  Rouge's foot met Tikal's fist with a loud clang, and both recoiled.  Rouge leapt into the air and began a glide as Tikal made a move to the wall.  She jumped at the wall and began to ascend, just narrowly missing a drill kick from Rouge.

            Rouge landed, dark energy building inside her and crawling up her arms.  "Here I come!" she shouted, seeing Tikal finish her climb and start to glide.  "Get ready!"  At that moment, Tikal shot down at Rouge, who was just finishing up charging her ki.  The batgirl thrust her hand up and spun around 360 degrees in place.  "Black Wave!"  A large, black vortex appeared a few yards above her head – where it was directed – and right in the path of Tikal's descent.  She crashed into it, knocking her out of her flight and down to the cold floor below.  Tikal's head was spinning and it became hard to see straight.  She got up, slowly, and tried to focus.  She stumbled a few times, while Rouge ran at her at breakneck speed, and drilled her with both feet extended, her Steel Boots slamming into Tikal's body, getting her right in the ribs.  As she fell down, Tikal felt like her insides were on fire.

            "Not too bad, huh?" Rouge asked, swaggering in a circle around her fallen foe.  "I'm pretty strong, alright."  Rouge was now standing to Tikal's right, where her legs were.  She flashed a sinister smile and stood with one hand on her hip, smirking as Tikal reach up feebly with her right arm.

            "I beg of you..." she managed to get out.  What Rouge wasn't expecting was exactly what happened next.  A bolt of lightning, from out of nowhere, was cast down from – the ceiling, apparently – and slammed into Rouge with the force of a Mack truck.  She was launched clear across the large room and slammed hard into the wall, sliding down it slowly.  While it would seem Tikal burned up all her remaining strength by unleashing Heaven's Justice, but rather, it got her fired up and just as determined as ever to bring this thief down.

            Tikal turned around and ran to the nearest wall as she saw Rouge get back to her feet. She jumped and stuck herself to the wall, using her spiked fists to pull herself up along the smooth surface.  As she got back to her feet, the now angrier Rouge scowled, and took a few striding steps forward.  With a loud yell, she hopped, and landed on her left hip.  Just as Tikal did earlier, Rouge's Hip Drop knocked Tikal off her balance; in this case, it dislodged her from her position on the wall.

            Tikal landed on her feet, while Rouge ascended the wall yet again.  When she jumped off in a large forward flip, Tikal took to the air and glided at the bat thief.  They collided in midair, hard.  The two crashed to the ground in a heap, but through the confusion, Rouge landed on her back, and presently had Tikal locked in a full body scissors, and was holding on for dear life.

            Rouge's strong legs had a death grip on the injured Tikal's body.  It was bad enough Rouge's thighs were squeezing what little breath she had in her lungs, but considering it felt like her Steel Boots may have broken – or at least bruised – a few ribs – made it all more painful.  Her eyes were blank and she could taste her own blood at the back of her throat.  She was almost unconsciously trying in vain to pry Rouge's legs off of her.

            "You're running out of options, Echidna," Rouge grunted out.  "Now tell me what I want to know before I snap you in half!"

            "N-never!" Tikal grunted.  She moaned in pain as Rouge responded by tightening her clutch on her.  Rouge's ankles were locked and her knuckles grew white as she put more force into the hold she had the Echidna princess in.  She let out a few wails of pain every now and then, but never once did she give in to the thief's threat.  "I'd sooner die than listen to you!"

            _Have it your way, little girl, _Rouge thought.  Her fists tightened as she squeezed harder on Tikal, causing blood to slowly drip out of her mouth as she screamed in agony.  If Rouge held on any longer to her prey, she would have most definitely killed her.  But sensing her situation and what was at stake – not just her life, but also the safety of the Emeralds – Tikal made a last-ditch effort.

            Tikal gathered what little energy she had left and focused it into several punches connecting on Rouge's face.  She rolled with the punches, not too fazed by them.  Her persistence flared, and in a surprise move, Tikal took hold of Rouge's large ears, and yanked her towards her, while at the same time, slammed her head into Rouge's with all the strength she had left.  This was enough to break the hold.  Tikal collapsed to the side, arms clutched over her midsection, gasping and coughing, occasionally spitting out a shot of blood here and there.  Rouge seethed at the feeling of her blood leaking out of the gash just above the bridge of her nose, and turned around to her broken foe.  She wound up, and slammed her foot into Tikal's ribs, smirking ever so slightly as the Echidna girl wailed in pain and groaned in agony, clutching her body tightly in pain.  She placed a Steel Boot clad foot upon her chest.

            "Last chance, girlie," Rouge warned.  "Where...is...Knuckles?"  She slowly put more pressure on Tikal.

            "Go to hell...thief..." Tikal squeaked.  She was too weak to move, but she still tried to push Rouge's heavy boot off of her.

            Rouge sighed.  "Oh well.  Your loss."  In the course of a second, Rouge raised her knee to her chest, intending to slam her foot down upon the weak Tikal.  But instead, a large laser blast rocked the area, blowing Rouge almost halfway across the room.  "What in the...?"

            Rouge and Tikal looked up from their positions on the floor to the source of the blast.  Floating above them was a large mechanical contraption, which was designed to look somewhat human.  It was a large, wide robot, with an egg-shaped physique and long, frail robotic arms.  Each was capped with a huge, white hand – the right one holding a large laser pistol.  A jet pack dominated its backside, and had tiny, almost ornamental legs no bigger than Rouge's arms.  Its body was red save for two yellow triangles down the front of it, and had a huge, gray head with two beady eyes poking out from it.  It looked like it was wearing something out of Dr. Robotnik's wardrobe, Rouge thought.

            Wait a second...this is one of Dr. Robotnik's devices!

            "Don't tell me the Eggman sent you!" Rouge shouted.  The Eggman droid ignored the batgirl's remarks, and drifted towards the Master Emerald.  Holstering its laser pistol, the droid hastily ripped the Master Emerald from its case and drifted towards the same door it came in.

            "No!" Tikal shouted, even as Rouge ran off to pursue the robot.  "The Master Emerald!"  The huge, steel door slammed shut on Rouge, much to her surprise.  Tikal managed to bring herself to her knees, reaching out in vain as she watched the sacred prize of the Echidnae be stolen right out from under her.

            After the door slammed shut, the remaining Chaos Emeralds began to give off patterns of light far different from what they were a moment ago.  Instead of the lights combining to form a bright, white light, the Emeralds pulsed their colors, illuminating the chamber in bursts of red, yellow, green, blues, and purple.  This random pattern grew faster and more chaotic by the second, and as they all flashed together, the Chaos Emeralds gave off one final burst of their colored light before being expelled from the chamber.  Left in darkness save for a few torches, Rouge was in shock.

            "What happened?!" she shouted, turning on her Treasure Scope.  None of the jewels were gone, and Rouge's mouth hung open.  "Where did they go?!"  Looking around, she saw Tikal finally pull herself up to her feet.  She was breathing heavily, and looked to be out on her feet.  Rouge ran over to her.  "Where'd the Chaos Emeralds go?" she shouted frantically.  "They were right here two seconds ago!"  
  
            "It's a defense...mechanism..." Tikal said, weakly.  Her next few words were a garbled mess, prompting Rouge to shake her back to reality.

            "Oh come on, girl, you're fine!" she insisted.  "What's this defense mechanism you're talking about?"

            "When...one of the other Emeralds is in danger..." she explained, "...the others scatter and disperse themselves...all over the planet.  Th-they've all fallen to the planet...Earth by now..."

            Rouge's eyes grew wide at this sudden revelation.  How much farther would she have to go to get the prizes she wanted?  She now had to search _all over the world?!_

TO BE CONTINUED………


	2. Stalactite Pursuit

Sonic Adventure 3:  Battle

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters do not belong to me.

SCENE 2:  STALACTITE PURSUIT

            Rouge's head was a mess of thoughts as the truths just revealed to her began to sink in.  Images of her scouring all over the world in extremely harsh conditions swam in her mind.  An outsider looking in would see this as a challenge to her devotion to precious jewels.

            Just how badly _did _she want the Chaos Emeralds?  Did she love jewels _that _much?

            She had little time to answer her own question, as she heard ragged breathing accompanied by a few heavy footfalls.  She saw her enemy, Tikal, running in the direction of that door, the same one the Egg Dummy exited, Master Emerald in tow.  _What's she thinking? _Rouge thought.

            "Where are you going?" she asked aloud.  Tikal didn't look back as she answered.

            "I must do something," Tikal answered, a bit labored.  "I have to...stop that thing!"  
  
            "In your condition?  You must be out of your mind, girl!"  Rouge knew full well that Tikal _should _be in an emergency room right now, considering how badly Rouge beat her not too long ago.  The fact of the matter was that Rouge was surprised Tikal could stand up.

            Tikal snapped around quickly to glare at Rouge.  "It's my duty."

            "Duty?" Rouge asked in a low tone.  It was more out of disbelief than anything else.

            "My duty to my people...and to Knuckles!"  On that note, she pushed the door open and ran off, pursuing the interloper.

            While Rouge was compelled by her enemy's sense of duty, she also thought up an idea as to how to use it to her advantage.  Quietly, calmly, Rouge exited the same door Tikal hurried out of.

            If this section of Angel Island was anything like what she experienced getting to the Master Emerald, then chances were this area was just as laden with traps and tricks as the first one.  Rouge kept a good distance between herself and Tikal – her plan was to smash the Egg Dummy and take the Master Emerald for herself.

            But she couldn't let Tikal figure that out.

            As she assumed, Tikal knew every trap, every pitfall and every dead end path like the back of her hand.  Rouge stayed behind the Echidna girl just far enough to see where she was going and what traps were located where.  Some of the traps – like the occasional protruding spears, flying arrows and walls of blades – made it a bit difficult to keep up, but Rouge managed to keep Tikal at least within earshot (and considering how large Rouge's ears are, this can be quite a hike at times).  The winding crystal paths and seeing her reflection almost everywhere she turned was making Rouge's head spin.  And just when she thought she lost sight of Tikal completely, she saw her...and the Egg Dummy, at the end of a narrow passage, leading to a large opening, like an air bubble trapped in a piece of glass.  Rouge took only a few steps down the path, carefully observing the argument ensue.

            "Stay where you are, outsider!" Tikal barked at the mechanized effigy of Dr. Robotnik.  The Master Emerald was now being stored inside its hollowed egg-shaped body.  "Give me back the Master Emerald _now!_"

            Though courageous, Tikal's threads did little to persuade the Egg Dummy.  It was programmed to execute a task – in this case, retrieve the Master Emerald and put down any resistance with whatever is at its disposal.  Killing to accomplish its mission would not be out of the question.

            The Egg Dummy's left arm straightened out, and its large, white hand snapped back at the wrist.  Energy built at the hollowed arm for a second, before firing a 12-gauge blue-white laser at Tikal.  She barely managed to get out of the way of the laser fire.  A few more shots were fired, and while Tikal managed to dodge most of them, the last took her off her feet.  The arm with the laser cannon reverted, and the right one snapped into battle mode in its place.  While the left concealed a laser cannon, the right concealed a flamethrower.  It shot a scorching ball of fire at Tikal, who barely scrambled backwards to get out of its way.  Parts of her clothes and a small bit of her hair were singed, but for the most part, she survived it.

            But what had happened was she was being set up for a supposed finishing blow from the Egg Dummy.

            Again, the arms switched modes, and the Egg Dummy aimed its laser cannon up at the ceiling, and the numerous crystal stalactites hanging from it.  The plan was to blast them and bury Tikal under tons of crystal debris.  And up until the robot was finished blasting away at the stalactites, the plan was foolproof.

            Only...

            Rouge saw what the intention was, and sprinted forward at the wounded Tikal.  The Echidna girl was still frozen in fear at the site of a cave in bearing down upon her.  So frozen that she barely even felt herself being trucked by Rouge until she landed on the ground face first.  A bit of confusion in her eyes, she looked at the thieving batgirl.

            "You...you saved me...but why?" Rouge asked.

            Caught by surprise with this question, Rouge quickly made something up – an answer that was compatible with her hard-assed exterior rather than her real motivation.  "That's none of your business," she said coldly.  The real reason she saved her is that though being a thief, Rouge frowned upon senseless killing, no matter who is involved on either side.  "Let's just say I've got bigger fish to fry."

            The aforementioned fish had already escaped while the two ladies were busy talking.

            Tikal dragged herself to her feet and gave chase to the Egg Dummy.  What only she knew is that the Dummy was leaving the same way it came in – through the Echidnae escape tunnels.  In a cavern the size of the Master Emerald shrine were a number of holes in the floor.  Most were sealed up right now, not in use, but one was blasted out of existence altogether.  That one was where the Egg Dummy made its intrusion into the sacred Angel Island.

            Eerily, the robot floated over to where it entered, but before it was about to leave, it picked up Rouge and Tikal on its sensors.  They had been following the path of the robot for a while; Tikal started, but her weakened condition meant she wasn't nearly as fast as she was normally.  In no time, Rouge overtook Tikal in her own special way.

            "Outta the way, sister!" Rouge shouted, giving Tikal's shirt a good hard yank.  Tikal tumbled backwards and fell down, not bothering to get up.  The fight with Rouge and the punishment laid down by the Egg Dummy had finally caught up to her, and she couldn't take anymore.  Dejectedly, she accepted her defeat.

            "Wait!" she shouted with what little strength she had left.  "The floor up ahead is filled with..." She tried to warn her, but she was already out of earshot.

            Rouge ran three steps into the room ahead and had already fallen into one of the escape tunnels.  She tumbled down the hole with a yell, frantically trying to grab onto whatever she could.  Eventually, she fell from the island itself, and out into the stalactites hanging on the underside of the island.  As she clung to one of the large, pointy chunks of solid rock, she could see the Egg Dummy looking at her.

            It was ready to attack.

            Rouge deftly leapt from her previous perch just as the stalactite was blasted away via the laser arm.  She glided to the nearest one, a few yards away, just as the yellow panels on the Egg Dummy's chest opened up.  They were aimed at Rouge, and as she started to climb up a larger stalactite, she saw exactly what they were.

            "Oh shit..." she murmured.  The yellow panels concealed two .50 caliber machine guns.

            The Egg Dummy opened fire on Rouge, just as its right arm snapped into battle mode.  Rouge was too busy gliding through stalactites to notice this, and was not expecting a full-on burst of flame aimed directly at her.  This sudden attack sent her spiraling downward to the ground far, far below.

            _"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!"_

TIME:  Simultaneously  
LOCATION:  Green Hills

            "Dammit...when is he going to show up?"  
  


            This is something a cute, pink hedgehog named Amy Rose had been saying to herself for the past five or ten minutes.  She and Sonic were supposed to spend the day together doing stuff.  This picnic Amy thought up was probably the only planned thing; everything else was most likely going to be impromptu or spur-the-moment activities.

            Sonic had promised Amy he would be here today.  She told him that she would be preparing a big picnic lunch for the two of them, and instantly, Sonic was hooked (one thing he just couldn't betray was his stomach).  Amy suddenly felt a huge wave of worry overtake her.  Had she done all this for naught?  Had Sonic got her hopes up and stood her up?

            No...Sonic would never do something like that...would he?

            This is Sonic we're talking about!  Amy, stop thinking crazy stuff like that!

            She got up from where she was sitting, and walked down to the small stream not too far off.  Kneeling down, she looked at her reflection in the clear water.

            As much as she didn't want to think of it, the possibility of Sonic standing her up was very nerve wracking for her.  He had even told Amy that he liked her – and she could tell that he was being deadly honest about it.  So...what would change his mind?

            These thoughts were hastily scattered as a small meteorite...or something...slammed into the stream a few feet from her.  She shrieked loudly and ducked for cover.  Moments later, Amy turned to the impact site, and saw a glowing gem staring back at her.

            "Huh?" she asked in disbelief.  "That's...that's a Chaos Emerald!"  Her disbelief was clear in her high-pitched voice as she took the glowing light blue gem in her hand.  Her jaw was on the ground, and the reality of this moment hadn't quite sunk in yet.  "But what's it doing here?"

            Looking into the sky, she saw the sky Chaos Emerald give off a flickering light.  Somewhere in her mind, knowledge shared between Tails and Knuckles surfaced.  More importantly, the fact that one Emerald can be used to find other Emeralds.  Following the blinking light like a compass, she traveled over a few hills and found a second Chaos Emerald.

            "This is weird..." she said, taking the purple Chaos Emerald into her hand.  "Why are the Chaos Emeralds here?  Shouldn't they be in Angel Island?"

            This thought was dispersed in favor of another deeper thought.  Amy suddenly got an image of herself gathering all seven Chaos Emeralds and using them the way Sonic, Shadow, and even Knuckles and Tails have.  Imagine...Super Amy Rose!

            Her picnic with Sonic was the last thing on her mind.  Stuffing one of the Emeralds into her purse, she ran through the hills in search of the last five Chaos Emeralds, giddy at the thought of a glowing pink version of herself shooting across the landscape... 

TO BE CONTINUED………


	3. Metropolis Gridlock

Sonic Adventure 3:  Battle

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters do not belong to me.

SCENE 3:  METROPOLIS GRIDLOCK

            While the events on Angel Island unfolded, the catastrophe was totally unknown to people of Earth.

            Tall skyscrapers dotted Jet Grind City, each adding its distinguished shape to the city skyline from afar.  Throughout the crisscrossing streets, life went on as usual, day to day life rather routine and mundane.  Each inhabitant – human or otherwise  – had their own lives to lead, their own stories to tell.  The city was built on hills, and many of its long, sloping streets and highways made the city borderline infamous.  Driving and parking on such a road was a nightmare, especially if you forgot to park your car without an emergency brake and turning your wheel so the car goes into the curb and not the street should the brakes slip.

            And as a blue hedgehog proved a few months ago, even with the curious lack of snow, the city streets can be very good snowboarding grounds.

            At the present time, that same hedgehog stood at the corner of two streets atop one of the highest points in the city.  For some reason, Sonic the Hedgehog was drawn to this section of Jet Grind City.  He had to say that it was more the great view than anything else.  From there, he could see the entire city.  Off in the distance to the right was the Pacific Ocean, and from his vantage point, he could se ea few of the islands he visited during the crisis with Dr. Robotnik raiding Prison Island, smashing the military installation and stealing some Chaos Emeralds.  Even though the bombs Robotnik had set up on the island ravaged the Green Island, it was still in existence...although it was more or less barren.

            The sudden memory of Dr. Robotnik and Prison Island made Sonic think about the ARK incident.  And of Shadow.

            Shadow...

            Sonic remembered how many times Shadow and his paths crossed in those few eventful days.  A being that called himself the "ultimate life form", he and Shadow were at each other's throats for quite a while.  It took the near-destruction of the world at the hands of the falling ARK to the Earth and wiping out all life that they managed to set aside their differences.  Their cooperation in finally toppling the Final Hazard gave each a profound respect for the other – Shadow understood how Sonic selflessly put his life on the line to save the world; Sonic respected Shadow's _apparently _giving his life to do the same.

            Sonic returned to Earth assuming Shadow died.  This feeling stayed cemented within him until he decided to help out his buddy, Tails.  The two-tailed fox boy was scoping out possible places to move his workshop, now that his previous establishment had outgrown its walls.  He found it in an old airfield on the edge of Station Square.  The airstrip had been abandoned, after its previous owner's piloting school and skydiving attraction failed.  Tails looked around and decided that it would be perfect for him.  He converted the old hangar into his own personal workshop, where he could create amazing machines from practically nothing.  Though he was technically squatting, no one bothered to try and kick the young boy off the previously unused land.

            That same airfield is precisely where they found Shadow.  His body, so they thought.  Tails was showing Sonic around his new base of operations, checking out the runway and the vast open field before him.  That's precisely where they found him.  Shadow was facedown on the ground, unconscious (though looked dead).  Shockingly enough, Tails found a weak heartbeat on the black hedgehog clone, and Sonic quickly suggested they get Shadow indoors.  That had been the last time he saw Shadow while he was unconscious.  Tails had set him down in his bed, where he remained for days.  When Tails was working on a new flying machine at around 2:00 a.m., Shadow awoke.

            He shot up straight in his bed with a loud yell, which spooked Tails so much that he fell down off the ladder he was standing on and down hard to the floor.  Once he recovered, he explained to the shocked Shadow where he was, what happened with the ARK, and how disaster had been averted.  When he took account of Tails' words, all he said was, "Maria...I've kept my promise."

            Since then, Sonic and Shadow have been on better terms.  They weren't friends the way Sonic and Tails were friends, but weren't at each other's throats the way he and Robotnik were.  If anything, Shadow wasn't bent on destroying Sonic; though it did help to have someone around to make him push himself harder and faster.

            Off in the distance to the left, opposite the ocean, was the wide-open landscape, untouched by civilization.  This region was most famous for its Green Hills, which is where Sonic began his first journey to defeat Dr. Robotnik.  A lot of young couples would frequent to the Hills, taking in the tranquility and the solitude that...!

            _Oh, man...that's right! _Sonic suddenly shouted in his mind.  _Amy's gonna be really pissed off!_

            Quickly, Sonic surveyed the streets below him, trying to deduce the quickest way to Green Hills from his current locale.  Giving a second glance at his watch, he decided it's best to stop wasting time.  He took off down the long, sloping street like a comet.

            He would've made it to his destination much more quickly if it hadn't been for two factors.  One, it was rush hour, and there were more cars on the road than normally.  And second, as he hung a sharp left, he heard a deep, dark voice call out to him.

            "Going somewhere, blue hedgehog?"

            Sonic stopped on a dime as he hard the voice calling him.  On the corner where a pole held a traffic light out over the intersection stood a black hedgehog, much like him.  But while Sonic's quills were uniform in appearance and color, his were much more erratic, and he wasn't uniformly black; he had red streaks throughout his quills and had a small scruff of white fur on his chest, just underneath his chin.  A small smirk graced his face.

            "Shadow," Sonic said with a hint of surprise.  He cocked his head with a matching smirk.  "To what do I owe the honor?"

            "Sonic..." He continued to smile as he hopped down off his perch, a few feet away from his blue counterpart.  "This is a surprise."  He started walking with him, matching his pace stride for stride.  Just like their fight running down the Eclipse Cannon on the ARK.  Sonic noticed that, but thought it be best not to bring that up.  "I'm surprised you wouldn't want to talk, perhaps catch up on old times, you know?"

            "Yeah, well..." He picked up his pace, taking slightly faster steps, and Shadow matched him.  "...I'm kinda busy right now.  I have to go meet someone, and..."

            Shadow picked up on the uneasiness in Sonic's voice, and was quick to pull it out.  "A date, perhaps?" His smile grew.  "So, have you drilled that little pink ball of quills yet?" Shadow added a chuckle at the end of that.  He could tell even during the ARK incident that there was something going on between Sonic and Amy Rose.  Though Sonic obviously didn't admit it.  And since Tails informed him once upon a time that she and Sonic were now an official couple, it seemed to only fortify Shadow's arsenal.

            "No one's drilling anywhere..." Sonic shot a glare at Shadow.  "...and she has a name: Amy!  Besides, she gets really upset if you're not on time with her.  She's likely to think that I hate her now if I'm even remotely late.  Now if you'll excuse me..."  Sonic started to run faster, his arms locked stiffly out and back behind him as he ran.  Meanwhile, Shadow was letting his Air Shoes do all the work, the ionic jets in the soles of his shoes pushing against the ground with little resistance, making him look like he's skating on air.  Seeing Shadow's persistence, Sonic tried another way to get him to leave.  "Seriously, though.  Amy's probably not too fond of you, you know.  And anyway, I don't want you to feel like a third wheel."

            "Oh, don't worry about me," he said coolly.  "I want to be there when all the chaos strikes." He chuckled at Sonic, who just sped up in response.  "Besides, no one knows how to liven up a party like Shadow the Hedgehog, the one and only ultimate life form!  You should feel honored to be in my presence!"

            "Yay," Sonic said in a deadpan tone, waving a small, triangular red pennant apathetically.  Clearing himself of any more distractions, Sonic stared straight ahead and moved like a bullet down the street, Shadow matching every stride.

            All obstacles aside, the impromptu race between Sonic and Shadow was fairly close.  The two hedgehogs maneuvered expertly in and out of cars, trucks, and pedestrians.  The traffic served as more of an interesting twist than a hindrance – getting ahead of each other was just as fun and amusing as trying to avoid being imbedded in the grill of an SUV.

            Sonic still had his mind on his meeting with Amy, and with that in mind, would try at any opportunity to lose Shadow.  He would turn down narrow streets, weave in and out of heavy traffic, and even dare to run a red light now and then to lose him.  And while most of him wanted to get rid of him, a little part hoped that he'd keep up, so they could continue this little game of theirs.  At one point, Sonic ran down a narrow alley that was very chewed up on the surface.  A few sinkholes lined the surface, and city works was in the process of patching up the road.  Workers had the street blocked off, and were in the process of spreading molten tar over the affected areas.

            Sonic saw this, and was quick to lead Shadow down this pathway.  Though while Sonic ran on the sidewalk, Shadow was still the same distance away from Shadow, and was forced to run on the street.  The asphalt wasn't completely dry – hell, it was just recently laid down – and Shadow's sloshing above the surface caused it to shake up and get stuck to his shoes...more importantly, the ion jets on the soles of the shoes.

            Shadow looked down and saw his predicament, and he furiously ran to get away.  "Hot tar hot tar hot tar hot tar!" he said to himself over and over again.  He did manage to get through it, but not while losing some distance to Sonic.  Stopping, he approached a nearby hotdog cart and grabbed a handful of napkins.  He sat down on the curb and went to work cleaning the gunk out of the jets.

            Sonic was about a block away when he sensed Shadow was no longer chasing him.  He couldn't help but smile, knowing his trick worked on his rival.  Shadow growled as he caught sight of Sonic, tossing the last of the many napkins in a nearby trashcan.  "Are we ready to finish this?" he said, knowing the smile on Sonic's face would have to be ripped off forcefully.

            "Catch me if you can!" Sonic shouted, taking off in a blue blur again.  With his shoes cleaned out, Shadow could keep up the pace Sonic was dictating.  Of course, Shadow would have to get back at Sonic in some form.  Luckily for him, his moment would come soon.

            As their race continued, they ended up approaching the busiest intersection in all of Jet Grind City.  It easily wins the title of busiest intersection because the only time of the day when it _isn't _choked with heavy traffic is in the dead of night.  Though the intersection was still a distance off, but cars were starting to slow down and get in line.  Sonic and Shadow could slow down and look right inside some of these cars, much to the surprise of the passengers.

            "Great, traffic," Sonic mumbled, looking ahead.  Shadow wasn't shaken, though.

            "Don't worry about it," he answered.

            The traffic did little to slow the two hedgehogs.  In fact, instead of going around the long string of automobiles, they took _to the tops _of the automobiles.  Shadow glided effortlessly up and down the roofs of everything in his path, while the rapid footfalls of Sonic's Light Shoes on the roofs made a good number of people stick their heads out and stare at Sonic as he ran past.  Shadow's run took him to a minivan, from which he jumped off of, spinning in mid air.  He managed two complete clockwise spins and a back flip before his hands found the traffic light bar.  He swung on it several times, building up momentum, and let himself go, getting off three full back flips before landing in the street on the other side.

            Sonic, on the other hand, simply ran straight through, his blue body a wavy blur as he ran atop the long line of cars.  Instead of vaulting like Shadow, Sonic kept running, and used cars traveling the other way through the intersection as stepping-stones.  He was moving so quickly his transition from one end of the intersection to the other was practically seamless.  He kept running at the same pace as he hit the cars waiting at the red light in the other lane, but was brought to an abrupt end thanks to a car's sunroof being left open.

            Sonic didn't watch his step as he ran across a black Toyota Camry, and his foot went right through the open roof. He lurched forward with a loud shout and slammed into the bumper of an F-150.  Shadow heard Sonic's yell and ran over just in time to see his blue rival curled up in a ball on the ground, hands clamped around his mouth.  Blood was dripping from the gash in Sonic's lower lip, and ran into his gloves.

            Shadow hadn't seen the actual impact; just the sight of Sonic suddenly dropping face first straight down caught his attention.  But now that he saw the blue hedgehog's predicament, Shadow could do nothing but laugh.

            "That's rich!" Shadow shouted through his laughter.  He threw his head back and folded his arms across his chest as he laughed, hard.  Sonic had rolled onto his back, looking up at Shadow.  With mocked apathy, Sonic reached out to him.  "I forgot how funny someone else's stupidity could be."

            Sonic's hand stopped shaking, and instead, he flashed the middle finger at Shadow.

  
TIME:  Minutes Later

LOCATION:  Green Hills

            Much to Sonic's chagrin, Shadow kept with Sonic every step of the way.  Unfortunately, Sonic would have to wait for Amy to chase Shadow away, most likely by giving him a few good smacks with her Piko Piko Hammer.  Heh, that big hammer always made Sonic laugh.

            Sonic took a few minutes to look around the area, Shadow trailing a step behind.  The black hedgehog didn't know what to look for, and thought it best to keep by the blue hedgehog.

            "Well, where is she?" Shadow asked, breaking the uneasy silence.

            "I...don't know," Sonic answered.  "She just told me to meet here, she didn't say where, exactly."

            'Where' could have been anywhere.  Again, the two walked around until they found a red and white checkerboard blanket laid out and a picnic basket sitting on it, completely undisturbed.  A small cooler was next to it, keeping the blanked anchored in case a gust of wind wanted to blow it away.  The two hedgehogs checked out the area.  Everything had been undisturbed, waiting to be used.  Sonic sighed, his face fallen.

            "How long was she here?" he asked himself, just barely loud enough to be picked up by Shadow.

            "Beats me," Shadow said.  "Apparently, she didn't wait up for you, either."

            "But, it's not like her to just...pick up and wander off like that!" Sonic was absentmindedly walking down to the river, the same one where Amy found one of the Chaos Emeralds not too long ago, unbeknown to anyone else.  "That's one of _my _tricks – what's that?"  As he looked at his reflection in the stream, a gleaming speck caught his eye.  He reached down and fished it out, finding his glove dotted with several small specks of...some kind of jewel of sorts.

            "What's what?"

            "This."  He held out his hand and showed the flecks of shining dust on his glove.  "Looks like it came off of a jewel, or something."  Sonic shifted his hand, letting the light hit it at different angles.  He also wanted to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.  "It looks like it's...glowing."

            "Glowing?"

            "Yeah, glowing.  And...it feels like it's radiating some kind of energy.  And it feels so, so, familiar.  I wouldn't suppose you know of too many glowing, energy-producing gemstones, do you?"

            "Only the Chaos Emeralds.  Whatever that little bit of dust is radiating does feel familiar."  Both hedgehogs froze in place when the mention of the Chaos Emeralds, their eyes wide.  Their heads slowly turned to one another.  "The Chaos Emeralds?!"

            "It can't be!  Can it?  I mean, what would they be doing here?  Something's not right, here..."

            Their conversation was suddenly cut short when a loud, piercing shriek filled the valley.  "Amy!" Sonic shouted.  The two bolted for the nearest hill, and Sonic began looking around furiously.  He was gripped in a cold sweat.

            "Where is she?"  Shadow shouted.

            "She better be alright!"  He put his hands up to his mouth, and called out loudly.  "AMY!" 

TO BE CONTINUED………


	4. Battle Hangar

Sonic Adventure 3:  Battle

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters do not belong to me.

SCENE 4:  BATTLE HANGAR

            On the outskirts of the Jet Grind City suburb of Station Square resides the Flying Fox airstrip.  This, of course, wasn't the real name of it; it had been named for the young two-tailed fox boy who was, for all intents and purposes, squatting there.

            Miles "Tails" Prower had spent a good deal of his young life beside his best friend, the blue hedgehog responsible for saving the entire world on several occasions.  But now that there were no more threats to humanity, the young fox boy could focus all his attention on what he loved to do the most – build things.

            That is what he's precisely doing right now.

            His latest project was something he planned on using to transport himself, Sonic and anyone else who wanted a ride.  Basically, he had converted an old charter plane into a high-tech flying fortress, complete with all the luxuries of a four-star hotel suite.  It wasn't one of his more difficult projects; but in recent memory, that title would belong to the _Cyclone_, the biplane that could morph into an attack walker.  However, it was large, and quite tedious.  When he would get bored, his mind would wander off to some obscure side project he had in the back of his mind, bust out the work, etc., and within a few hours, he would be fully charged mentally and back to work on his plane, which he was going to name the _Hurricane._

            For the most part, he was alone in his workshop, turning out fantastic machines and devices.  A couple of times he would go into Station Square, or off into the city, to see his friends and hang out there for a while.  Either that, or he would get a visit from Sonic, Knuckles, Amy Rose, and on rare occasions, Shadow.  But for the majority of the time, he was alone.

            Currently, he was programming the code and adding the final touches to the navigation system for the _Hurricane, his_ actions being fueled by Jolt cola and Guns 'N' Roses music.  His voice scratched as he sang along to _Paradise City, _as his fingers fired off code like it was second nature to him.

            Oh, by the way, unlike most days, this is one in which he does have a visitor.

            In another, more secluded area of the hangar, the Emerald guardian Knuckles was training.  Not too unusual in itself, for as the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles has to be in top form all the time.  The difference is that now, he was working with Tails' training simulators.  He wore a visor on his head, over his eyes, projecting the images to him.  He wore special sensors over his gloves and shoes, so that the program could recognize his movements and gauge his workout.

            In Knuckles' vision, courtesy of the visor he was wearing, he saw several foes approach him.  He has the difficulty set on 4, a level which he thought as a warm-up.  They were martial artists, some armed, some not.  Knuckles fell into a defensive stance as two unarmed cyber-thugs approached him.  He managed to block the blows that they came out with, stopping only when Knuckles counterattacked and sent one into the other.  One managed a shot to the back of his head, but Knuckles kicked back at him, knocking him down.

            A few more unarmed goons approached.  Knuckles dealt a series of kicks to the first, knocking him down, then took down the second with a headlock takedown.  The third managed a fairly good offense, but was laid out by a quick punching and kicking assault by Knuckles.  He slung that goon over the one he just laid out, then jumped into the air.  He circled above them before diving straight down, plunging his fists into the heap.

            "Time to take it up a little bit," Knuckles said to himself.  He looked at the setting indicator on his right arm pad.  Without a second thought, he spun the dial until it was up to 10.

            So much for a little bit.  The number of attackers tripled, and now all were armed.  Their skill increased about tenfold as well.

            They started attacking Knuckles several at a time, but not before surrounding him.  Knuckles found himself trying harder and harder to fight off the growing number of digital foes bearing down on him.  There he was, throwing punches and kicks wildly, knocking down foes left and right.  He ran away from the cybernetic onslaught, running into several more armed thugs.  Another handful of attacks, and Knuckles jumped up, taking flight.  He glided over the digitized crowd a few seconds before diving downward and smashing his knuckles into another few people.  Before he knew it, they were all beating on him, kicking, punching, and driving their weapons into him.

            Tails had just finished installing the components for the plane's onboard hard drive, and had replaced the panels on the main console.  As he walked out of his newest creation, he surveyed his work, smiling at his handiwork.  "Not bad," he told himself.  "Not bad at all."  Tails lobbed the wrench he was holding up, and caught it in a fancy catch.

            As he walked away from his completed project, he saw Knuckles in the midst of his training.  He was struggling to get up, possibly under the hail of what would be punches, kicks and beatings with weapons.  Finally, as he gets himself up to his knees, he jumps upward, his body spinning rapidly, fists up above his head.  In his simulator, he would've trashed about eight or so thugs, leaving discarded weapons and KO'ed bodies in his wake.

            "Hey Knuckles!" he heard Tails shout.  He paused, looked around, and looked in the direction he heard the voice coming from.  He lifted the visor from his face, completely oblivious to the training simulator.

            "Hey, what's up, Tails," he said with a small sigh.  He disconnected the power from the equipment he was wearing, ending his training session.  He peeled the equipment off and set it aside, walking over to tails.

            "So," Tails started, "how do you like the new simulator?"

            "Pretty cool from what I can tell," Knuckles answered, "but the difficulty level could be worked on a little."

            "Too difficult?"

            "Too easy!"  He gave Tails a playful shove.  "Come on, this is suppose to improve my techniques, not bore me to death!"  Knuckles had trouble keeping the smirk from appearing on his face.

            "Alright, alright," Tails answers, answering the shove, "I'll see what I can do."  He turns to walk towards the _Hurricane.  _"In the meantime..." he beckons to Knuckles, who follows him, into the cockpit and to the controls.  "...do you wanna help me take this thing for a test run?  I'm itching to get this thing up in the air!"

            "Well, sure, why not?  Hell, I'd – "

            "I'm driving."

            Tails had a systematic obstacle course set up for the _Hurricane._  After navigating the vast airfield obstacle course, they took the craft out over Station Square.  The people below could see the plane up above, but to them it looked like merely an oversized charter plane.  Knuckles suggested taking it over Jet Grind City, but was denied as Tails noted the waning fuel supply.

            All in all, Tails was very satisfied with his test results.  One of his greatest joys in life was seeing his hard work and diligence pay off in such form.  No sooner did they step out of the _Hurricane _did they hear a loud pounding on the door.

            "Who is that?" Knuckles asked.

            "Beats me," Tails replied, opening the fuel tank on the side of the plane.  "Not too many people know I'm out here.  And Sonic doesn't knock."  He went over to the wall and found a gas tank.  He pulled the hose out from its resting position and walked with it over to the opened tank on the plane.  "Could you get that for me, please?"

            "Sure," he said with a shrug.  As Tails refueled the _Hurricane, _Knuckles walked calmly over to the large bay doors of the hangar.  He took a long look at the interior of the hangar, a bit surprised that Tails could live in a place like this.  _It must get awfully cold and lonely in here sometimes,_ he thought.  _Not even I could deal with this.  I'd need to have _someone _around to break the monotony..._

            The knocking on the door became louder and harsher.  Either this person was very rude or very persistent.  "Alright, alright, hold on a second," he said, a bit irritated.  With a good shove, he slid the doors open, coming face to face with the guest.  Knuckles' eyes grew wide in surprise.  He never thought he'd see him here.

            "Shadow?" Knuckles asked.

            "Indeed," the black and red hedgehog said, striding passed the Echidna.

            Knuckles shut the door and caught up with Shadow.  "What are you doing here?"

            "I'm not here to play games, guardian.  I need to speak to Tails.  It's deathly urgent.  Though..." he stopped and looked at Knuckles.  "...this does concern you as well.  You may not like what I have to tell either of you."

            "Tell us what?"  The voice of Tails piped up as he returned the nozzle to the gas pump, and made his way to where he heard the voices.  "Huh?  Shadow?"

            "Yes."

            "What are you doing here?  How did you find out where I was living?"

            "That blue hedgehog told me, that's how."  Shadow folded his arms.  "He sends word of a major problem that's risen."

            "What kind of problem?"

            "And how does this effect me?" Knuckles added.

            Shadow was silent for a long moment, before finally looking over his shoulder at the red Echidna.  "It involves the Chaos Emeralds.  And my guess is the Master Emerald as well."

            Both the fox and the Echidna were taken aback.  "What?" Knuckles shouted.  "Don't tell me something's happened to it!"

            "If I were to do so, I would be lying, Knuckles."

            "Fine.  Then tell me...tell me what happened!"  
  


            "We'd better sit down for this..."

            "We can talk about this aboard the _Hurricane_," Tails added.  The three agreed, and Tails led them into the lounge of the craft.  It was separate from the cockpit – on the other side of the inside, actually – and there was a kitchenette nearby.  In between the two was a living room, with a large sofa and top-of-the-line entertainment center.  Knuckles inwardly questioned the need for having this kind of stuff on the plane, while Shadow seemed unfazed by it.

            "So what's the deal," Knuckles started, "what happened to the Emeralds?"

            "Somehow, they're on Earth," Shadow started.  "I gathered that after the ARK debacle, you would've returned them to their home soil."

            "But I _did._  Everything should be in order."

            "Well it's not.  Do you know what causes the Chaos Emeralds to suddenly scatter and fall to the Earth the way they did?"

            "From what I heard," Tails started, "the Chaos Emeralds usually stay in one place, unless they sense some kind of danger.  Probably it's because – "

            " – the Master Emerald is in trouble!" Knuckles interrupted.  He slammed his fist on the table.  "Somehow, someone must've stolen the Master Emerald..._again_!"

            Tails instinctively scooted away from Knuckles.  He is deeply devoted to his duty as the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds.  He was rather reluctant to take a break – as his elders' suggestion – and leave the safety of the Emeralds to someone not as experienced as he.  This sudden turn of events flooded Knuckles with guilt.

            "So...what else?" Tails asked.

            "Well, oddly enough, the Emeralds have fallen to Earth, and even odder still, they've fallen into the hands of Amy Rose."

            "_Amy?!_"

            "Yes, Amy.  I followed Sonic out to the Green Hills to help him find his girlfriend.  When we found her, she not only had the Emeralds, but tried to use them like any of us use them."

            "You mean, she tried to go Super Amy Rose?" Knuckles asked.

            "And she managed to hold it for a good ten seconds.  She collapsed shortly afterward.  Sonic sent me over here while he took Amy to the hospital.  He still has the Emeralds with him now."  He looked at Knuckles.  "We were hoping we could get to Angel Island and try to discover what is causing all of this."

            "It's probably Dr. Robotnik," Tails suggested.  "Well, that's still no problem.  We can swing by the hospital on the way up there."

            "In what, this thing?" Shadow asked, looking around, scratching his head.

            Tails rolled his eyes in annoyance.  "Yes!" 

TO BE CONTINUED………


End file.
